Ancient Eastern Medicine and Western Medicine share more similarities than you think. Look at the graphic I made below, and read along for some golden nuggets.
There are energy channels (nadis, meridians) that channel light frequencies (photons) and carry electricity (electrons) through the crystal lattice of hydrated semiconductors (collagen, melanin, cell membranes).
Meridians have been hypothesized to be connected to fascia (1); the primo-vascular system (2); and the bladder meridian (BL) may connect to the superficial back line (SFL), whilst the superficial front line (SFL) may reflect the stomach (ST) & spleen (SP) meridians that run from the foot all the way to the head (3).
Biophysicists, Robert O'Becker & Andrew Marino et. al also showed that acupoints have lower electrical resistance compared to other regions of the skin. This means that acupressure or acupuncture needling have the potential to stimulate these channels to generate an electrical current tied to healing and regeneration (4).
Acupoints in Chinese Medicine (TCM), directly correlate with marman points as seen in Ayurvedic Indian medicine (5)
The Ren Mai (yin) & Du Mai (yang) governing vessels that run up and down the spine in TCM seem to directly link to the major energy channels seen in Yoga & Ayurveda, being the Ida (yin) & Pingala (yang).
The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is 99.9% water and it directly flows through the brain parenchyma where the interstitial fluid (ISF) is also found. These carries specific ions in its extracellular space (potassium, sodium, bicarbonate, etc.) to govern shifts in consciousness.
The CSF-ISF exchange is fundamental to glymphatic detoxification within the nervous system, which is a highly important process for disease prevention, alongside potentially governing higher states of consciousness (6).
The spinal cord and its associated spinal segments (cervical, thoracic, sacral, lumbar) and adjacent neural plexues and ganglia are anatomically related to the Chakra system seen in Yoga (7).
What's interesting is that increased cerebral blood flow, respiratory movement, and cardiac pulsations all increase glymphatic detoxification. This means that various dietary, herbal, and lifestyle interventions can target this delicate system.
We can pump this CSF fluid up and down the spine through breath work, meditation, sleep, and movement. There are various forms of meditations and breath work that act to wake up Kundalini which may be tied to deep shifts within the glymphatic detoxification system (8).
Meditation promotes glymphatic clearance as much as sleep does (9), and this may be one reason why we see deep shifts in consciousness during meditative states. Breath work stimulates glymphatic clearance, too (10).
You can increase cerebral blood flow by various herbs such as Bacopa, Cordyceps, Ginkgo biloba, and Gotu kola. There are heart tonics such as Red sage, Hibiscus, Hawthorn berry, and Pomegranate; whilst some herbs that have affinity for lungs are Ginger, Astragalus, and Mullein. These all provide additional benefits on top in isolation and in synergism. Leverage some of these catered to your bio-individuality and constitution.
This is a map of how the emotional, physical, and vital bodies all intersect (as seen in Yoga's 5 Koshas).
You can now look at a humans' physical body/posture, and assess it to determine what chakras are open or closed (eg., hunched over shoulders reflects a closed off heart chakra, meaning lack of love, neglect, and emotional expression), alongside the physical impairments that need support through physical therapy and body/fascia work. You may find that releasing a particular emotion will most certainly improve someones posture because the energy channels are now open and flowing, and the fascia is no longer tight.
You can also look at someone's face or tongue and see what emotions are blocked (eg., stagnant liver relates to stored anger and indecisiveness), or what organs are dysfunctional (eg., tip of tongue relates to thyroid gland and throat chakra). You can view someone's lab work and dietary framework and then cross reference will all of the above.
This is the art of combining wisdom from both the East and West. You really start to build a deep system that allows for peak physical, emotional, and spiritual human health. Much deeper than only looking at one in isolation.
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pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/article…
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pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/article…
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academia.edu/43890178/Anatom…
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researchgate.net/publication…
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pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/article…
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sciencedirect.com/science/ar…
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anandamyogaschool.com/blogs/…
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nitter.siddz.com/jack_schroder_/status/…
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pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.25…
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pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/article…
Waking up Kundalini energy from the base of the spine is literally a huge flow of brain detoxification.
Breath work, meditation, and deep sleep are the 3 main activities that shift one's consciousness, and this co-exists with enhancing brain detoxification (glymphatic system) and minimizing neuroinflammation.
The glymphatic detoxification system of the nervous system is tied to Western science's cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) running along the spinal cord and brain's ventricles; and this connects to Yoga's chakra energy center system; Taoist/TCM's Ren Mai and Du Mai extraordinary vessels; and Ayurveda's Ida and Pingala energy channels.
Ancient cultures were aware that these interventions led to shifts in consciousness and enhanced physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing; they just didn't know the science behind it.
The CSF spirls up the spinal cord like a vortex and sends waves of vibrations through the ventricles of the brain, the subarachnoid space, and the interstitial fluid. One special region in particular is the third ventricle where the pituitary gland, pineal gland, thalamus, and hypothalamus live — this is where the Crown and Third eye chakras reside and I suspect a particular vibration in this region leads to heightened consciousness, astral projections, and to enter a state of pure awareness that's timeless and spaceless (the "I am").